A dreadnought concentrated and controlled its heavy fire through a uniform main battery. Earlier battleships mixed heavy gun calibres, which made salvo spotting and range correction harder. Quick-firing secondary guns remained necessary against destroyers and torpedo boats at close range. The defining change lay in the heavy battery and its fire control, while the anti-torpedo battery continued to serve a separate purpose.
Chapter · 1:13-3:39
What made a dreadnought different
The shift from mixed heavy batteries to a uniform main battery made long-range fire control easier and more coherent, while quick-firing secondary guns remained necessary against torpedo craft.